BSNL to roll out 3G services by December end

Kolkata: State-run telecom major BSNL said it would launch 3G services by the end of December this year for which it would require an investment of Rs 300 crore in the eastern region.

'BSNL will rollout 3G services by December and in Kolkata circle the additional investment would be Rs 60 crore to install 575 3G nodes and for the entire eastern region it would be around Rs 300 crore,' Calcutta Telephones Chief General Manager S K Chakravarty said here today.

BSNL will commence its 3G operations in the north and east by December-end and cover south and west by March next year.

However, BSNL officials said though the rollout in Kolkata city would be by December-end, it would not be possible to cover the entire east before 2009.

BSNL was in talks with content providers for developing suitable applications, like video conferencing, video telephony, video streaming. A trial was carried out in Pune recently.

Speaking on other plans, Chakravarty said BSNL would invest Rs 499 crore in 2008-09 to augment the network in different telecom areas.

The investment includes another Rs 110 crore for expansion of its 2G mobile network. BSNL will add 300 additional BTS from existing 900 BTS.